Milloy's happy [5:06 AM]Springfield Republican reports:
'"Right now, we feel like we can line up and play against anybody. It is just sad that we are not in the playoff hunt because I know teams don't want to face us right now."'

Inside slant [5:05 AM]CBS Sportsline reports:
'Even if as many as 10 head coaching jobs open up, Williams won't be high on anybody's list of candidates. Donahoe, whose style is to take his time and not react emotionally, believes in top-down management and won't lay all the blame for this season's struggles solely on Williams. He also likes stability. So while it would be easy to assume Williams is a goner, it's also possible Donahoe will choose to stay the course, allowing Williams to keep intact a rising No. 2 defense and staff of assistants, while the focus shifts to revamping the offense.'

Strategy and personnel [5:04 AM]CBS Sportsline reports:
'The Bills and Winfield talked before the season began about a new deal but didn't come to terms and Winfield now hopes to test the market, especially after his fourth straight season of not tasting the playoffs after getting there his rookie year. "I don't want to cheat myself," Winfield said. "I mean, I would love to be back. We have a very talented team. But I want to win and I'm tired of losing. It seems like that has been the thing around here the last three years. I need to go to a contender, or hopefully, we can step up here and do something. I'll have to weigh my options."'

Notes, quotes, anecdotes [5:03 AM]CBS Sportsline reports:
'Bills fans booed from start to finish in the Miami loss, but one person got a little more creative. He blew up a white balloon, wrote the words "Bye, Bye Gregg" on it in black marker, and released it to be bounced around the stands like a beach ball. Talk about your balloon-o-grams.'

December 24, 2003

McGahee resigned to sitting out Bills season finale [5:43 PM]AP reports:
'``Something bad might happen, carry over to next year, so I'm going to stay healthy,'' McGahee said. ``I'm looking forward to next year. You never look back in the past, always look forward.'''

10 million reason$ make Milloy a winner [5:13 PM]Lawrence Eagle Tribune reports:
'At 30 years old, the Washington product had to take steps to secure a quality life. With two trips to the Super Bowl under his belts and one championship ring could he blamed for looking out for No. 1? Of course not. And surely, the New England players will one day accept that. Just not this Saturday.'

Always unscripted, Miller ready to call last game for Bills [3:11 PM]AP reports:
'''It's familiar, it's quite intimate. It invites you in. He is the neighbor next door,'' Smith said. ''You never tired of Van Miller. He could go on for another 50 years and people would still be saying, 'More.''''

Bills OG Brown misses second straight practice [3:10 PM]AP reports:
'Bills guard Ruben Brown missed his second straight practice on Wednesday, excused for what coach Gregg Williams called personal reasons. Brown is not on the team's injury report and the team would not provide further details. The Bills are preparing for their season finale at New England on Saturday.'

New England shoots for AFC's top seed versus Buffalo [3:09 PM]The Sports Network reports:
'"I don't have any prediction with that, really," Williams said of the chances of being back in Buffalo for the 2004 season. "Next week is next week. We'll sit down as soon as possible. We'll talk. We do that every year. We'll start two days after the season, tearing everything down. We'll go through every phase of it. [GM Tom Donahoe] and I have done that every year."'

Patriots have something to prove to Bills [3:08 PM]Patriots.com reports:
'"It's very ironic," Patriots strong safety Rodney Harrison said, "but it's the perfect setting. We're at home for the last game and it's a climactic game. There will be a lot of physical play and emotion."'

Injured Patriot Colvin still thinking positively [3:06 PM]Quincy Patriot Ledger reports:
'Colvin was supposed to inject life into the Pats' pass rush. Yet without him, Mike Vrabel (9.5 sacks), Richard Seymour (8) and Willie McGinest (5.5) have thrived. Colvin was supposed to shore up the run defense that had sagged in 2002. Yet without him the Patriots rank fourth in the league and have allowed only one 100-yard back all season. If this defense is that good without him, logic says it would be downright scary with him.'

Klecko's fan appeal hasn't waned [3:05 PM]Quincy Patriot Ledger reports:
'Saturday will be ‘‘Military Appreciation Day'' at Gillette Stadium, honoring personnel representing the U.S. Army, Air Force, Navy, Marines and Coast Guard, plus Massachusetts Army National Guard and Air Guard. Four military A-10 jets will conduct a pregame fly-over, and Army Sergeant First Class David Ainslie, a Purple Heart recipient from the war in Iraq, will participate in the coin toss.'

Colvin, Milloy back in town [3:04 PM]Nashua Telegraph reports:
'“I feel good. It’s not going to be a game of revenge. You guys know I’m going to fly around, and any eventual rage is going to be because I respect all of my (former) teammates over there. Anybody who gains my respect on any opposing team, they know they can expect my best. And hopefully, the way I approach this week, especially with the situation here, my teammates (in Buffalo) can see this is still football, we have a chance to be the No. 1 defense.”'

Patriots stick to their story: winning [9:05 AM]Buffalo News reports:
'"You've got to give the players credit for making the plays that they've made," New England coach Bill Belichick said Tuesday. "We've had a lot of different people step up and make big plays at key times in the game on offense, defense and special teams."'

Williams, Van Pelt nursing injuries [9:04 AM]Buffalo News reports:
'Williams has a sprained right knee and Van Pelt has a sprained wrist. Both did not practice Tuesday, although Bills coach Gregg Williams said he is hopeful that Mike Williams will return to practice today. "He's done better," Gregg Williams said. "We hope that he will be able to progress throughout the course of the week."'

Brady, Belichick defend Bledsoe [5:15 AM]Rochester D&C reports:
'“He played pretty well in our game. That’s what I’m going on,” he said. “He played very well against us, the entire team played well. Drew certainly had an outstanding day. We have a lot of respect for Drew. I have a lot of respect for him personally. When you get beat 31-0 you better respect the team that beat you, I can tell you that.”'

Williams' fate waits a week [5:14 AM]Rochester D&C reports:
'It’s believed that Williams was offered three-, four- and five-year deals when he signed with Buffalo in 2001 and elected to take three. When the Bills offered an extension with an option last off-season, Williams declined, believing — it now appears — that if he had coached a playoff team he’d have more leverage and options open to him.'

Wire makes big impact off field, too [5:13 AM]Rochester D&C reports:
'The impact he has had away from the field has been much more profound than those helmet-rattling hits he delivers while covering kicks and receivers on Sunday afternoons at Ralph Wilson Stadium.'

Defense a fun group activity [5:12 AM]Boston Globe reports:
'The Patriots play exceptional "team" defense. The term is redundant, but realize that it isn't easy to get 11 to think and play as one.'

Colvin won't play what-if game [5:11 AM]Boston Globe reports:
'In a year in which the team is 13-2, won the AFC East, and is jockeying for prime playoff position, Colvin's season ended after he fractured his left hip in Game 2 against Philadelphia while trying to scoop up a loose ball and run.'

Teaming up to carry the load [5:10 AM]Boston Globe reports:
'The Patriots are averaging 3.4 yards per carry, second-worst in the league. In the offseason Belichick probably will look for a front-line running back. But for now, at least, he's not looking at next week as the start of his team's offseason.'

NFL reversal just fine with Wilson [5:09 AM]Boston Herald reports:
'Drew Bledsoe is among those who are amazed at how far the Bills have fallen since their blowout win over the Pats in Week 1. '`It seems like forever ago,'' he said. ``It's been surreal for me to see where we started and see where we are now. It's been hard.'''

These Bills a far cry from their opening win [5:07 AM]Providence Journal reports:
'"I'm on record that day saying, 'We're not as good as everybody thinks we are,' " head coach Gregg Williams pointed out yesterday. "We played well that particular day. We capitalized on some of the breaks in the ball game. They turned the ball over uncharacteristically and we capitalized. But I said at the time after that ball game and the second game that a lot of people believe we're a lot better than we are right now." He was right.'

Recuperating Colvin can walk, but not much else [5:06 AM]Providence Journal reports:
'"It's been almost surreal to me to look at where we started [this season]," he told the Buffalo media yesterday. "It seems like forever ago. We were playing well. I think if you saw only one game this season and you're talking about the last week of the season, one team playing for home-field advantage and the other team out of the playoffs, you probably would have though the opposite team would have been in those respective situations. It's been surreal for me to see where we started and where we are now. It's been very hard."'